Bahá’í World/Volume 25/Update, the Situation of the Bahá’ís in Iran
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Update: The Situatio/n 01
THE BAHA’IS INIRAN
he situation of the Bahá’í community in Iran remained
grave during 1996—97. Coping in a difficult and hostile environment since the installation of the Islamic Revolutionary Government in 1979, the Bahá’ís, whose approximately 300,000 members compose Iran’s largest religious minority, still find themselves without any legal or civil recourse—regarded as “unprotected infidels” under the country’s Islamic constitution.
Although the executions of Bahá’ís have ceased, harassment continues. Between 1993 and 1997, some 200 Bahá’ís were arrested and detained for periods ranging from 48 hours to 6 months. As of March 1997, fourteen Bahá’ís were still being held in Iranian prisons solely because of their religious beliefs. Four of these are under sentence of death. ‘
Concern about these death sentences is very real. Since 1979 more than 200 Bahá’ is have been killed, while another 15 have disappeared and are presumed dead. A secret government document, written and approved by Iran’s most senior clerical and civil authorities and adopted by Iran’s Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council in
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1991, outlines specific guidelines aimed at suppressing the minority community in a fashion calculated to elicit minimal international attention.
The obstacles placed before the Iranian Bahá’í community are numerous and serve to impede them in fundamental ways.
First, with regard to employment, Bahá’ís are prevented from entering a large number of professions. More than 10,000 government employees who were members of the Bahá’í Faith were dismissed from their positions in the early days of the Revolution and were, in some cases, forced to repay wages and pensions. Many remain unemployed and receive no social benefits. Bahá’í farmers are denied admission to farmers’ cooperatives, which are often the only sources of credit, seeds, pesticide, and fertilizer. The stores owned by Bahá’ís in one city have been closed for more than twelve years now, and there is no sign than they will be reopened, in spite of continual requests to the authorities. Pharmacies owned by Bahá’ís in two other cities were closed down and sealed by the authorities, for no apparent reason. Other Bahá’ís have been bullied and intimidated into abandoning their professions. One medical doctor, for example, was arrested, beaten, slandered, and forced to cooperate with the Islamic security guards.
Bahá’í youth have been denied access to higher education for some seventeen years now, and an entire generation is suffering from this deprivation. A recent change in the secondary educational structure of the country has created even further hardship for the Bahá’í community. Previously the public high school program was four years in length, but now the government has shortened it to three years, making the fourth a pre-university year, from which Bahá’ís are barred, thus closing access to postsecondary education. To counteract this repression on the part of the government, the Bahá’í community established, in 1987, its own higher education program, or open university, to offer a program to its youth. By 1996, several hundred students were enrolled and eleven had graduated with the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree. Recently, however, government officials raided the office where records of all the Bahá’í students were kept. The information secured by the government through this action may well be used against the community.
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A third means of oppression with which the Iranian Bahá’í community must deal is the deprivation of civil rights and liberties. Bahá’í marriages and divorces are not recognized in Iran, nor is the right of Bahá’ís to inherit. Recently the Ministry of Justice, Tehran Civil Court, deprived a Bahá’í woman of the right to inherit her rightful share following the death of her daughter, stating that the only heir of the deceased is her husband, a Muslim, “because the other inheritors are Bahá’ís.” Since Bahá’ís are strictly prevented from seeking probate, according to a government ruling passed in 1996, they now have no recourse in the matter. The freedom of Bahá’ís to travel outside and inside Iran is often impeded or even denied. Bahá’ís seeking passports must complete application forms which require declaration of affiliation with a “recognized religion”; a declaration of faith by Bahá’í applicants is used to pressure them to recant their belief. Another manner in which individual members of the Bahá’í community are harassed is the practice, in a number of communities, of summoning Bahá’ís to the security offices, where they are insulted and belittled with the obj ect of creating fear in their families and weakening their spirits.
On a collective level, Bahá’ís have been denied the right, since 1983, to assemble and to maintain their democratically elected administrative institutions. Since the Bahá’í Faith has no clergy, and these institutions direct many functions of Bahá’í community life, their dissolution is a direct threat to the existence of this religious community. Another manner in which the community as a whole has been deeply affected is through the confiscation of Bahá’í cemeteries, holy places, historical sites, administrative centers, and other assets shortly after the 1979 revolution. They have never been returned; many, in fact, have been destroyed. In 1993, approximately 15,000 graves were desecrated when bulldozers excavated a section of the Bahá’í cemetery in Tehran to construct an Islamic cultural center. Throughout the country, seizure of Bahá’í cemeteries has left Bahá’ís access only to areas of waste land designated by the government for their use, where they are not permitted to mark the graves of those they bury.
Confiscation of property owned by individual Bahá’ís is also widespread. Private and business properties, homes, and farms, have all been arbitrarily seized, thus contributing further to the
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erosion of the community’s economic base. A few examples will serve to illustrate the arbitrary nature of the actions taken by the government. In Kashan, a mosque was built on land confiscated from Bahá’ís, in spite of complaints made through official channels. In Yazd, the majority of Bahá’ís are prohibited from conducting any business transactions, and over 150 cases related to the confiscation of belongings occurred in only one year, 1995. One of the Bahá’ís who was ejected from her home, over the protests of her neighbors, was a blind woman, whose belongings were also confiscated, along With those of some sixty other Bahá’í families. In Kirman and Mashhad, government authorities “inspected” numerous Bahá’í homes, confiscating belongings such as computers, a video recorder, a television, a piano, and other musical equipment. Bahá’ís were also arrested and detained for one month in Kirrnan.
The situation of those Bahá’ís currently imprisoned is of the utmost seriousness, particularly those languishing under sentence of death. Kayvan Ehalajabadi and Bihnam Mimaqi were first imprisoned in 1989 solely on the basis of their faith. An original sentence of eight years’ imprisonment was, through a process of appeals, first commuted to three years plus fifty lashes, and then overturned in favor of the death sentence, first passed in 1991. The latest appeal resulted in the confirmation of the death sentence by the Supreme Court of Iran on 18 February 1996.
Mfisa Talibi was sentenced to death for apostasy on 18 August 1996, after being imprisoned in Iṣfahán since June 1994. While he was originally sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment for sharing the tenets of his faith with others, an appeal reduced the sentence to eighteen months. A further appeal by the prosecutors resulted in imposition of the death sentence, which was confirmed by the Supreme Court of Iran in J anuary 1997. News of this decision was conveyed orally to Mr. Talibi’s relatives; no written verdict has been given. Recently Mr. Talibi was transferred from Iṣfahán to the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran.
D_habihu’llah Mahrami, charged with apostasy, was sentenced to death in J anuary 1996, and his properties and assets were all confiscated, since his heirs are all Bahá’ís. After a lengthy appeal process, confirmation of the death sentence was received from
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the Supreme Court of Iran in J anuary 1997. Again, this news was conveyed orally to Mr. Mahrami’s relatives, and he was moved from the prison of the Revolutionary Court in Yazd to that of the Security Information Department.
A fifth Bahá’í, Rarnidan-‘Ali D_hu1faqari, although released from prison in 1994, is still under sentence of death for apostasy.
During 1996, other members of the Bahá’í Faith were arrested on various pretexts. Two men in Mashhad, for example, were arrested in February while conducting a Bahá’í children’s class. Charges against them include being active in the Bahá’í community, gathering for Bahá’í meetings in a private house, and working against the country’s security by organizing a children’s art exhibit. Six Bahá’ís arrested for infringement of business law were given prison sentences of between six months and one year and were fined 500,000 tumans (equivalent to a year’s rent for a two- or three-bedroorn apartment in Tehran), although none of them had done anything illegal and they provided the court with evidence proving their innocence. Two were released in late 1996, but the other four were still imprisoned as of March 1997. And two other Bahá’ís, arrested with several Muslims early in 1996 on charges of misconduct, were sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment after being told that they must reeant their faith in order to be freed. They refused. All the Muslims arrested with them have been released.
Government Action
Around the world, governments again this year spoke up in defense of the Bahá’ís in Iran. Statements were made by government representatives in the European Parliament, which adopted a resolution on Iran mentioning the situation of the Bahá’í community on 20 February 1997. Statements were also made in the German Bundestag and the French Parliament, and many other governments instructed their delegations to the United Nations to support actions taken on behalf of the Bahá’ís in that forum.
In the United States, Senators J ohn Edward Porter and Tom Lantos wrote directly to the Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations expressing their concern about the persecution of religious minorities in Iran and specifically mentioned the death sentence passed against Mr. Talibi for apostasy, calling on the
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government to commute the sentence and to “permit the free exercise of religion for all its citizens and end the persecution of religious minorities.” Again this year the US. Senate and House of Representatives unanimously approved a resolution—the seventh congressional appeal in support of the Iranian Bahá’í community adopted since 1982—condemning Iran’s continuing repressive actions against the community and urging the regime to grant religious rights to the Bahá’ís.
Media Coverage and Scholarly Articles
The year also saw significant media coverage of the plight of Iran’s Bahá’ís. Following the confirmation of the death sentences on Mr. Talibi and Mr. Mahrami at the end of J anuary, both the Reuters and the UPI news services reported on the statement by State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns which said, “The United States government strongly condemns this action and calls on the government of Iran to release these men. We urge the government of Iran to free all prisoners of conscience and to ensure freedom of religion.”
Amnesty International, in its 30 J anuary International Urgent Action Bulletin, also reported on the confirmation of the death sentences against Talibi and Mahrami, stating that the organization “is extremely concerned” that the men “may be at risk of imminent execution.” The bulletin provided details as to the cases of both men and stated, “Amnesty International believes both men are prisoners of conscience, currently held solely on account of their religious beliefs. It is calling for the death sentences against them to be lifted and for them to be released immediately and unconditionally.”
The International Labor Organization noted in a June press release, following the 83rd International Labor Conference in Geneva, that there are “serious problems” in Iran “with respect to employment policy toward members of the Bahá’í community and members of other religious communities.” The lLO’s Committee 0n the Application of Standards urged the Iranian government to adopt a non-discriminatory policy “particularly with regard to posts within the judiciary system, election to Islamic Labor Councils and access to university education.”
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In Australia, in March 1997, the SBS, the second national broadcast network in the country and the one that addresses the needs of Australia’s ethnic communities, aired an item on the case of Mr. Talibi on its “World News” program. An interview with a Bahá’í spokesperson regarding Mr. Talibi and the general situation of the Bahá’ís in Iran was also broadcast on a national SBS radio program.
Mention of the situation of Iran’s Bahá’í community also received scholarly attention. The Emory International Law Review, in its Spring 1996 volume, on the theme “Religious Human Rights in the World Today,” contained an article by Donna E. Arzt on “Religious Human Rights in Muslim States of the Middle East and Africa,” which contained references to the history and the current situation of the Bahá’í community in Iran, noting that “The 1979 Iranian constitution formally recognizes Jews, Christians, and Zorastrians [sic] but makes no mention of Bahá’ís, who constitute Iran’s largest religious minority, even though, as a scriptural monotheism, the Bahá’í faith should be entitled to dhimma status. There is little doubt, however, that Bahá’ís are the most persecuted minority in Iran.”
At the United Nations
A resolution expressing “concern at the continuation of Violations of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran,” noting in particular the situation of the Bahá’ís, “whose existence as a Viable religious community in the Islamic Republic of Iran is threatened,” and calling upon the government of that country “to implement fully the conclusions and recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance relating to the Bahá’ís and to other minority religious groups”1 was passed on 24 April 1996 at the 52nd Session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. This strong resolution, which included a request that the UN’s Special Representative on Iran “submit an interim report to the General Assembly at its fifty-first session on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the situation of minority groups such as the Bahá’ís, and to report to the Commission at its fifty-third
1. See The Bahá’í World 1995—96, pp. 142—43 for more on this report.
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session,” kept the persecution of Iran’s Bahá’ís before the gaze of the international community.
In August 1996, in another United Nations forum, a representative of the Bahá’í International Community made a statement to the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, detailing the continued persecution of the Iranian Bahá’í community, expressing its hope that the Subcommission would continue to monitor the case, conderrm the violation of the Bahá’ís’ human rights, and request that the Islamic Republic of Iran guarantee religious freedom to the Bahá’ís of that country. A resolution of the Subcommission urged the Iranian government “to implement fully the conclusions and the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance relating to the Bahá’ís and to other minority religious groups, including Christians, until they are completely emancipated.”
The reports of the Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance and the Special Representative on Iran, detailed in The Bahá’í' World 1995-96, were followed up by interim reports. The Special Representative, Maurice Danby Copithorne, submitted his written interim report in October 1996, including mention of the situation of the Bahá’í community in seven of the report’s seventeen paragraphs. Noting a description in the Iranian press of the Bahá’í Faith as “an organized espionage ring” rather than a religion, the Special Representative concluded that “the situation for the Bahá’ís in the Islamic Republic can improve only if there is a significant change in attitude towards them on the part of the Iranian authorities” and further noted that “the condition of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran may well have deteriorated since [the Representative’s] report earlier this year to the Commission on Human Rights.”
The points raised by Professor Amor in his interim report, based on conclusions and recommendations included in his previous report to the Commission on Human Rights, present the case of the Bahá’ís to the Iranian authorities and require their response. The following areas are those in which the Special Rapporteur has called for change by the Iranian government: that the ban on Bahá’í organizations be lifted; that confiscated properties be returned and destroyed places of worship either be rebuilt or compensation be offered; that Bahá’ís be free to bury and honor their dead; that the
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question of religion be deleted from passport applications to provide Bahá’ís with greater freedom of movement; that Bahá’ís be given access to institutions of higher education and t0 the justice system; and that death sentences pronounced against Bahá’ís be set aside. In his interim report, Professor Amor made specific mention of the three cases of apostasy pending against Bahá’ís in Iran.
On 12 December 1996, the Plenary Of the fifty-first session of the United Nations General Assembly adopted a strongly worded resolution on the human rights situation in Iran, with 79 voting in favor, 30 against, and 54 abstentions. The resolution made specific mention of the Bahá’ís in three operative paragraphs and was identical to the resolution adopted by the Third Committee 011 29 November.
One of these paragraphs states that the United Nations “expresses its concern at grave breaches of human rights of the Bahá’ís in the Islamic Republic of Iran and of situations of discrimination against the members of this religious community. . .” Another, in the same wording as the Human Rights Sub-Commission’s resolution, calls for the Iranian Government to implement the conclusions and rec0mmendations Of the Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance. The third operative paragraph states that the United Nations will “continue examination of the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran including the situation of minority groups, such as the Bahá’ís, during its fifty-second session under the item entitled, “Human rights questions’ 0n the basis of the report of the Special Representative and in the light of additional elements provided by the Commission on Human Rights and the Economic and Social Council.” The following April, in 1997, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights again expressed “grave concern” at the breaches of human rights and other situations of discrimination against Iran’s Bahá’ís and again called upon the government “to implement fully the recommendations of the Special Representative and relevant recommendations of the Special Rapporteurs 0n religious intolerance and on freedom of opinion and expression, in particular the recommendations relating to the Bahá’ís, Christians, Sunni, and other minority religious groups.” Finally, the Commission decided “to continue the examination of the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the situation of minority
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groups such as the Bahá’ís during its 54th session under the agenda item ‘question of the Violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in any part Of the world.’”
Mr. Copithorne’s report on the situation in Iran to the 53rd Session of the Commission on Human Rights, submitted on 1 April 1997, outlined further cases of persecution against the Bahá’ís, updated the cases previously treated, and again urged that “urgent attention” be paid to the October 1996 recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance, Abdelfattah Amor. By the year’s end, however, none of these issues had been addressed, and the situation of Iran’s Bahá’í community remained perilous.
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